Category: Technology

Microsoft Web Platform installer: Drupal on IIS, the easy way.

Posted on July 9, 2010 by ellen

If you work with Windows servers, then you have probably gotten used to doing without the many opensource web applications taken for granted outside the enterprise environment. Drupal, WordPress, phpBB, Moodle, etc. were all out of reach. Yes, it was possible to install PHP and mySQL, but it took a level of commitment and dogged troubleshooting persistence that few people are willing to undertake.

Well, now you can have your enterprise cake and your opensource software too! Microsoft’s Web Platform Installer, introduced a couple of years ago, makes the process of installing all those LAMP-style web apps easy. When I say easy, I really mean easy! It just works!

Use inexpensive Korg Controllers to control Logic Pro interfaces

Posted on July 5, 2010 by ellen

Logic Pro is a popular digital audio workstation/ Midi sequencer for the Mac. It contains many virtual models of mixers, effects, synths, drum machines and sequencers. Since the typical audio gear requires simultaneous fine-grained control of multiple parameters, the typical adjustment method is with a knob or slider control.

A standard mouse is not the best way to control such a UI. Many companies sell USB-Midi control surfaces with knobs and faders that allow real-time control of the sound using Logic’s virtual mixers and effects. However these can be very expensive. For those who are on a budget it can be a high price to pay to get started.

When Firefox won’t launch Java applets

Posted on June 29, 2010November 19, 2013 by ellen

If Firefox won’t launch java applets, but Internet Explorer will, you may need to change some settings in the Java control panel to turn on Applet support for Firefox. (Expert users: One sign that this is the issue rather than some Java security exception is that the Java console will be completely blank when you try to launch the applet in Firefox. _

Unfortunately on many PC’s, the Java control panel can be a challenge to find. First, check in the control panels area for “Java.” If it is not there, you may have to look in

C:Program FilesJava

for JRE (Java Runtime Environment) folders.

In the image below there are several of them. Usually you should pick the most recent one, as that is the one that is probably in use.

Set up a Cron job in Windows to run an ASP script

Posted on June 23, 2010 by ellen

If you are used to Linux environments, and working on a web application which needs to execute a function at regular intervals, you’d use a cron job. On Windows, you’d use a scheduled task instead. There is one part of the process that isn’t obvious, so here are the steps involved:

Create the web page that executes the desired tasks – sending email, creating files, etc. For example, I have some ASP scripts that create RSS and iCal feeds from a proprietary database, that need to run daily. Record the URL for later.
You will also need a domain account that can run the task, or a server account that can be used in perpetuity to run these types of tasks. I usually have a “fake” account that will never expire created for this type of thing.

Silence the startup “Bong” on an Intel iMac

Posted on June 21, 2010 by ellen

It used to be possible to silence the loud “Bong” sound that all Macs make on startup by simply hitting the “Mute” key on the keyboard before starting the computer. This no longer works on

Missing scrollbars on the iPad in some webpages

Posted on June 4, 2010 by ellen

When browsing certain sites like Flickr on the iPad, you may be frustrated by an apparent bug in Safari that causes scrollbars within elements on the page to disappear. This can make it impossible to

Enhancing Learning through Technology – Part 2

Posted on May 24, 2010 by ellen

Scenario-based learning can teach decision-making and thinking processes. Here is an example of the “Labyrinth” scenario-based learning system created in a Scottish medical school which features low fidelity simulations created with just text and pictures – but with great effect.

Each page describes what’s going on and gives a choice of action.

Here you are a doctor doing rounds and a nurse comes in with news about a patient who is increasingly breathless. Your choice here is “Stick with the rounds” or “Ask to see the patient”

If you stick with the rounds, you start wondering if you are doing the right thing, and are soon brought back to the right track -going to see the patient.

Enhancing Learning through Technology – Part I

Posted on May 21, 2010 by ellen

This is a talk I gave recently to a group of educator/trainers within the U of M Health System. Although it contains many UMHS-specific references, the concepts outlined in it can be applied to other training environments as well. There’s nothing particularly original here, just some suggestions for how to select among different technologies commonly available. This was the first part of a two-part presentation. The second part featured tips for creating engagement and improving digital photography.

Best Practice Showcase: Enhancing Learning through Technology

Our team has lots of tools you can use to create online training. There are so many choices, in fact, that it can be difficult to decide which to select when you’re starting a new project.

To help you sort through all the options, I’m going to give you some typical instructional situations and suggest tools that might best support them, without breaking the budget in the process. These are all things you can use – they don’t require a computer science degree to get a good result!

Firefox and Java/SCORM issues

Posted on May 13, 2010 by ellen

Our LMS uses Java applets to transmit SCORM data back and forth between learning activity and the LMS. Sometimes this causes problems, because Java security on various browsers is increasingly strict. However we can usually